Taking over the throne

You may have heard that content is king. Well, Ben Martin, CAE, thinks conversation could dethrone it. According to Martin, members don’t engage with the content, but consume it and engage with other members who are drawn to it. Martin suggests aligning your association’s strategy with your community content strategy to develop engagement among your members. “As time goes on, your content should be increasingly focused on getting members to connect with each other, engage in conversations, and do other things that build the community. These are the activities that sustain engagement, not consuming association content,” he writes. (ht @deirdrereid)

Are you listening?

How do you know members are satisfied with your conference? Association Advisor Hank Berkowitz has some suggestions for getting the most out of the face-to-face interaction with your attendees. He supports Camille Stern, vice president and show group director at NaylorCMG, with this suggestion: Feedback is key, especially negative feedback. “You’ve got to ask the ones who weren’t satisfied why they weren’t satisfied,” she said. “Associations don’t always listen (or want to listen) to what members tell them.” Check out his other ways to ensure your next conference delivers results. (ht @StarChapter)